Local 121: Local but tasteless

Rhode Island has had a long tradition with promoting local food. Farm fresh RI, the organization I spoke of in an earlier post, has promoted an even broader awareness of Rhode Island grown food. In the past decade the trend to buy locally for restauarants has soared. Gracie's downtown, Cook and Brown House and Al Forno's; all powerhouses in Providence culinary institutions, have all adopted this idea of telling guests where there food comes from. Local 121, a restaurant that thrives on this notion, has however forgotten to include taste on the menu. A brainchild of the owners of local club AS220, this restaurant has always had an excellent ambiance and great looking menu. The execution always fails however. I was taken here this past week by a family friend and again I made the mistake of thinking I was going to have a good meal. I ordered "Steamed Matunuck Littlenecks with Grilled Baguette", which in actuality turned out to be rubbery little-necks with burned baguette. The sauce is also usually absent from dishes. In the case of my salad: "Jonah Crab and Snow Pea Salad" there was no sauce/dressing to speak of. Now I fully appreciate the desire to move to sustainable foods. I am a member of the Slow Food Movement and a staunch supporter of tightening my food imprint radius to support local farmers. Where some chef's err, is in thinking that this "Green-washing" will make them better cooks. If you can't produce a good dish, marking it up with local farms isn't going to make it better. This restaurant is not only a sad happenstance for local farming, but for foodies everywhere.

Los Andes

Los Andes on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence is a cultural epiphany. I first came here after just leaving Argentina a couple years back, and was shocked at how well the food mirrored that South American feel. Heavily spiced, huge slabs of meat with heart attack inducing sides (get the cheese rice). One of the most fantastic things about the menu however, is the sheer size of it. I'm not just talking about the portions either (read: HUGE) I'm talking about the amount of things that can be ordered. From beef hearts to fantastic Hominy based ceviche, you could even bring a vegetarian here. I don't know why you would but it's possible. The meat is cooked primarily Parilla style (see the picture above), this means slow cooking over coals, and THIS means excellent texture with rich smokey flavor. The sauces, when they are served, are on the side. This means the flavors are genuine and not added. Even the fish is cooked in this Argentinian style. There are fusion dishes, to be sure, but if you want the real experience go for the excellent tilapia ceviche or the table site parilla, where the server will bring a grill to your tableside. While not the final word on class, Los Andes is a culinary masterpiece. The food and portions and fantastic as well as the price. Even better is if you can make it on a Friday night, where an Ecuadorian band can be found playing live.

Farm Fresh Rhode Island

My parent's were hosting a wedding at their house for my sister's best friend last weekend. When they decided they wanted to go with a menu of local produce, fish and meat, they went to the local foodie: me. Luckily for them, I had just created a new social networking site where I had done a great deal of research on where the best and most sustainable food in Rhode Island could be found. All of my research yielded one fact however, there is already a driving force in Rhode Island Fresh food and that is Farm Fresh RI. This website has, get this, a local farmers market on EVERY day of the week. I was able to pick up some beautiful Seabass and shellfish on Thursday from the Local Catch at the Armory park market; Cupcakes and Bread on the Friday Providence Downtown market; and perfect produce at the Hope Street market on Saturday morning. All of these markets run all summer long, and some even transition into the winter. It was a huge success and while I was forced to dirty my hands on opening some oysters, everything was perfectly fresh, even the two day old shellfish. The problem with these markets however is their stock is extremely limited. While it would be nice and all to think of them as markets in the more traditional sense, for one to be able to get the quantities I required, I had to be their at opening on each of these days. They are more of a tasting novelty, and could never be used by chef's as source of local catch. That said, it is a perfect way for people in the area to become aware of the local growers. If you really want to get in on all that Farm Fresh RI has to offer visit their website. They offer food tasting events and great information on some of the efforts being taken to promote sustainable food in our communities.

Chez Pascal

It's been sometime since I last updated this blog but with my semester drawing to a close I will be updating a few more times in the next few days in order to fulfill my blog obligations to the class that I started this blog for. PHEW, now that that's out of the way. During the past Providence restaurant week (which was actually two weeks from July 8th-21st) I made my regular outings as a good foodie should. That aside, one of my favorite places to go, no matter the occasion, is Chez Pascal on Hope Street. In a city that prides itself on it's local culinary mastery, Chez Pascal is a proverbial crown jewel. Unlike many Providence culinary food gems (ehem Al Forno's) I don't see the usual self obsession at Chez Pascal. The best indication of this is the fact that the Chef/Owner Matt Gennuso spends his daytime hours going around the city in a food truck serving up his meaty concoctions. No instead, Chez Pascal is a clean and enjoyable culinary experience with which to set as a backdrop. The food is excellent, and the portions are neither grandiose nor are they miniscule. Even during restaurant week, which is primarily why my girlfriend and I were there last week, the portions were the same size as usual. There is a great deal to be said for this as many participating restaurants will keep the cost of running the weekly deals down by skimping. Not so at the Chezzy.

I started out with a fantastic pork terrine, rounded out with the short rib you see above, and finished with a tasty raspberry cobbler. The polenta under the short rib was excellent even by the Italianate standards that we have in providence. But of course the star I should say was the pork, something that Chef Gennuso is an expert in. I loved the experience, and I loved sharing it with someone I love. As a foodie it is often easy to be overwhelmed by the experience and forget the occasion or who is with you. The lack of pomposity or overbearing waiters is what sets Chez Pascal apart from it's upper tier competitors. This is perhaps the perfect date location. Aside from restaurant week, Chez Pascal can be on the relative cheap from Tuesday-Thursday when they offer a great $35/Person Bistro Menu that samples the best of the weekly menu.

Nick's on Broadway

Went to Nick's on Broadway last night with my parents and a few of their friends. Being a tiny place (roughly 35 person seating) I knew to make a reservation far in advance. What I didn't remember was that Nick's often makes you wait even when you have a reservation. O man was it worth the wait and cavetching from the older people in our group. We all had opted for the "four-course savory menu" which brings four small courses of some of the finest local food you can get in Rhode Island. A Nick's staple and signature is the Oysters with capers. If you are a true Rhode Island foodie you love oysters, just part of the deal, and these are perfect. The toppings don't detract from the purity of the oyster nor are the covered by the Oyster's subtle taste. The other standout course was the corn-crusted bluefish over barley in pesto. Good stuff. The tasting menu is on the pricy side (60 dollars per person) so I wouldn't recommend it on a value proposition. But as a pure pallet pleaser there are few places in Providence that can delight as Nick's does. The combination of local food (a bit over presented in that everything's origin is given alongside the dish) and perfectly executed sauces is a delight.